NCHS Military History Exhibits
Confederates
At the beginning of the Civil War, three Confederate Companies were known to have organized within Nodaway County. The charismatic sheriff, Thomas McQuiddy, formed one company of Rebels in the western portion of the county. Many Southern sympathizers from around Quitman and Graham joined McQuiddy. The other two companies formed under Lewis Burris and Philip Cooper. Lewis headquartered his company in Graham. Not much is known about the third leader, Phillip Cooper, or where his company of Rebels originated.
THE CONFEDERATE CAPTURE of MARYVILLE
Maryville was captured by Confederate forces in July 1861. Lewis Burris organized a campaign to seize the town and claim it for the South. During the night, Burris and his men rode from Graham to Maryville. The Confederate company captured Maryville, but their victory was fleeting. Not long after arriving in town, Burris ordered Sergeant Joseph Baker to pursue a Union company camped nearby.
Map created by Aaron Schmidt.
The Union company, under the leadership of John Davis, encountered Baker and his men northwest of Maryville. Davis' company chased Baker's men back to town; from there, the entirety of Burris' company was forced out of Maryville.
REBEL BUSHWHACKERS
Rebels who raided on less “official” terms were known as bushwhackers. In general, a bushwhacker’s objective was to plunder and terrorize. Much of what occurred in Nodaway County during the Civil War is not known today, for instance, because of local Rebel bushwhackers who stormed Maryville and destroyed the local news press. Some bushwhackers pillaged personal property for weapons and other goods that could help the guerilla cause. One newspaper record indicates that Joe Hart, a Rebel bushwhacker from Andrew County, Missouri, raided southern Nodaway County for armaments.
Confederate Bushwhackers from Missouri
Click on the links below to learn more about Nodaway County Confederates.